Chapter Text
Dennis leaving was the best thing to happen to the bar.
Mac rolled out of Den- out of his bed and grabbed the first t-shirt he saw, pulling it over his head. Eventually, at some point during pulling up his jeans, his brain woke up with the rest of him and realised that the shirt was too tight. One of Dennis’. Great.
Dennis leaving was the best thing to happen to the gang.
Grabbing his comb from the dresser, Mac started to slick back his hair, making himself whistle some dumb tune as he did it. He ducked into the bathroom and checked out his reflection, running a hand through his newly styled hair. It was perfect, as always. Satisfied, he grabbed a toothbrush and started the usual morning ritual of attempting to scrub out the taste of alcohol, half expecting Dennis to shuffle in and start doing the same.
Dennis leaving was the best thing to happen to Mac.
Both Mac and Dennis had always complained about the size of their shared bathroom, but now that he was free to get his morning routine done alone, he could appreciate that it was actually a decent size, just not quite big enough to fit two grown men at a time. But Dennis was still everywhere. The asshole had up and left without having the decency to clear out his stuff. Everywhere Mac looked, there he was. Dennis’ towel. His stupid hair gel. His stupid fucking fancy makeup, kept neatly on the shelves. His toothbrush. His toothbrush, which was currently in Mac’s mouth. Fuck.
He dropped it like it was poison, and rushed out of the bathroom. But still, there was that staleness in his mouth from yesterday’s drinking. And shit, was that sick he tasted?
He shoved on his shoes and grabbed his keys, quickly taking a swig from the closest bottle he could find in an attempt to wash out the taste. He took a moment to appreciate the familiar burn in his throat, before walking out the door.
*
“I don’ – I don’t even know what this shit says”
“Look kid, I’m telling you. The numbers don’t lie.”
“But I thought you said you fake the numbers?”
“No amount of faking could – “
“- Heyooooo!”
Frank and Charlie spun around in a flash, moving closer together to hide whatever book they had just been hunched over. Mac craned his neck slightly, trying to look over the two and see what was on the bar.
He raised an eyebrow. “What you guys got there?”
“Mac!” exclaimed Frank, as if he had only just seen him standing there. “What are you doing here?”
God, what did he do to deserve this. He deserved better than these two idiots. He was better than these two idiots. “Um, I work here? Remember?”
“Right, right,” Charlie replied, stepping forward. “But we figured you wouldn’t be coming in today because of, you know…” He gestured at the empty space next to where Mac was standing. “Last night.”
Dennis. Of course they had to bring up Dennis. As if they somehow needed reminding that he had walked out on them. As if it wasn’t painfully obvious that Mac was walking around feeling like he had just lost a limb. Because apparently it took him moving to North fucking Dakota for Mac to realise that he couldn’t live without De – no. He was alive, after all. It had just been so long that he didn’t really know who he was when he wasn’t one half of MacandDennis. Whatever. Dennis wouldn’t last a week living there. He’d be back.
By the time he had snapped out of his thoughts, Frank and Charlie had snuck away.
*
One week later.
Dennis still wasn’t back.
Mac was sitting in the bar, half-heartedly chatting with Dee about her latest ‘great idea’, something to do with triple threats and dance classes, when the door swung open dramatically. Completely ignoring Dee, Mac spun around in his spot, because the only reason anyone would do that would be – it had to be –
“So, I knocked up the waitress.”
Charlie. Damn.
But also, what?
“What?” he asked, as Dee did the same.
“Well I was like, y’know,” Charlie started, his voice getting higher and faster every second “’hey you wanna make a baby?’ but then she was actually like ‘yeah okay’ and we had sex and now she peed on one of those little – those little stick things and it told her she was pregnant and then she told me she was pregnant and now I’m here telling you and – “
Mac held up his hands. “Woah, dude. Slow down.” He waited for Charlie to gulp in some air, and then some beer, before continuing. “You banged the waitress? Nice one! I’m super proud of you, man.” He started for a hi-five, but Charlie flinched away.
“Yeah,” Charlie said, absently. “Yeah I – I did it…”
Before Dee or Mac could ask any further questions, Frank barged in out of his office.
“Guys!” He slammed a large, battered-looking book onto the bar. “We’re screwed.”
All three of them went quiet and stopped still for a moment, before focusing on Frank.
After a few too many moments of silence, however, Dee broke it by glaring and asking “Well?”
Frank’s eyes darted around the bar, skittish. “I’ve tried my best, these last few years. Fudging the numbers. Funding schemes. You know. But there’s only so much you can do, and…”
Rage was quietly building up inside of Mac, threatening to explode at any moment. “And what, Frank?”
“There’s debt. A lot of it.”
Mac raised a fist, hovering it just above the bar. He kept his voice quieter than usual, but it shook slightly as he spoke. “You have money, Frank. Pay it off.”
“You don’t think I would?” Frank ran a hand through what little hair he had left. “But it’s not that simple! It’s the bad press, too. And the lawsuits. And the fact that apparently there’s not a single person in town who’ll talk to you people anymore. And…” He locked eyes with Charlie, the first hint of pity Mac had seen him give in the whole conversation.
“…And a health inspector came yesterday. I don’t know, I guess you were all too wrapped up in your shit to notice.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Mac saw Charlie slump.
“We failed. They’re threatening to shut us down.”
Dee took a deep, shuddering breath, and collapsed.
*
“Another heart attack? This is bullshit, it’s the third one I’ve had!”
“And we’re aware of that, Ms Reynolds,” the doctor said calmly. “You’re lucky to be alive.”
Mac had, at that point, pretty much stopped listening to the doctor. He was sat in a chair next to Dee’s bed, one hand propping up his head and the other gripping Dee’s tightly. In all the commotion of Dee being admitted to hospital, Frank ‘I’m her dad’ and Charlie ‘he’s her half-brother’, got swept through into her room immediately with their almost truths, leaving Mac behind. ‘Family only, sir.’ Any other time, he would have just grabbed Dennis and insisted they were partners, just hold on to him and breeze past the nurses. But Dennis wasn’t there. ‘Please, I’m… I’m her partner. You gotta let me through.’
And so he was holding her hand, gently stroking the hair off her face. Mostly to keep up the pretence. Maybe partly because he had just lost Dennis, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to lose Sweet Dee too.
Dee, ever the performer, had actually managed to pick up on the act quickly after waking up. Not only that, but to everyone’s surprise she was playing along with ease.
“Babe?” she asked, and Mac turned towards her, putting on his best doting look.
“Yes, honey?”
She awkwardly, amidst the various tubes and wires attached to her, attempted to lean towards Mac. Failing this, she gestured for him to come closer to her, until she could hiss in his ear. “My health insurance.”
Fuuuu – Mac pulled away from Dee and slumped back into his chair, covering his face with his hands. There was no way they could afford the hospital fees, which meant that Dee would be asked to leave, and ohgodohgodohgod she could have another heart attack and die, this time, and it’d be Mac’s fault because who else could it be blamed on and FUCK –
“Mac!”
He slid his hands down his face, leaving his eyes uncovered, to look at Frank.
“You’re shaking, man. What – “
Between short breaths, Mac managed to say “ - fees.”
“Oh. Oh, Mac, no. It’s fine, we’re fine.” Frank was waving his hands about, like he was pushing away the problems. “I put the kids back on my insurance after, y’know. The last time.”
It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. Really huge, because he was ripped. He could handle more weights than normal people. But glancing around, he could see that Dee and Charlie were feeling the same.
“Um…”
Everyone’s head snapped back round to the doctor, who was, for some reason, still there.
“As I was saying, Ms Reynolds, it’s very unusual for someone your age to have not just one heart attack, but three. Perhaps you ought to be looking at some…” his eyes darted around the room, landing briefly on each person in there. “… lifestyle changes.”
“What do you mean, lifestyle changes?” Dee’s words were mashing together, her voice mocking the doctor.
“Well, for example, how much would you say you drink?”
Dee scoffed. “I’m a bartender. Drinking is part of the job.”
“How much, Ms Reynolds?” The doctor’s teeth were gritting together, his eyes betraying the impatience he was clearly trying to hide.
“On a slow day? Maybe like… five beers?”
The doctor looked down at his chart, scribbling something. “And what is the longest period you’ve been without alcohol.” It was barely a question, at that point. He clearly knew the answer.
“Um”
“Oh! I know!” Charlie’s hand had shot into the air and he was bouncing in his seat, proud to be of use. “There was the time with the flu, and we were in quarantine but then we got sick so we drank my alcohol and –“ he stopped in his tracks when he noticed Mac’s glare. “I mean… I don’ know…”
There was silence for a moment, before the doctor sighed and put down his pen. “Ms Reynolds, you.” He looked around the room again. “You are an alcoholic. Your friends too, I expect. You need to get sober, or I’m not sure I can be much help.”
*
“FUCK!” Mac screamed, pushing over a bar stool and kicking it once it was on the ground. He pounded his fists on the counter. “Fuck,” he whispered again, for effect.
Frank and Charlie were stood at the entrance of the bar, quietly watching Mac.
“What are we gonna do?” Charlie asked, his voice calm and quiet. Probably trying not to freak out Mac.
“You think I – “ Mac tugged both hands through his hair, before waving one in the general direction of Frank and Charlie. “You think I fucking know? You guys can do whatever the fuck you want, I don’t care. But I, I am going to get blackout drunk, maybe bang some dudes. And then tomorrow?” He locked eyes with Frank, an unspoken dare for him to challenge his word. “Tomorrow we’re shutting down the bar. For good.”
He pushed past the two men and stormed out of the door.